Employees Retirement System of Texas Buys 3,600 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 121,600 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 3,600 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $48,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,915 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,605 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,452,000 after buying an additional 894 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,813 shares of company stock valued at $1,889,514 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.2%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $445.10. 1,208,347 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,418,418. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -202.32, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's 50 day moving average is $472.28 and its 200-day moving average is $461.84.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.76 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.